Christa Pike Still Alive After Two Lethal Injection Doses as Attorneys Seek Emergency Halt

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — October 1, 2026 — Christa Pike, a Tennessee death-row inmate convicted of a 1995 murder, remained alive after prison officials administered two doses of lethal-injection drugs during an attempted execution Wednesday night.

Pike’s attorneys filed an emergency motion seeking to halt the execution, saying she had received two syringes of pentobarbital but had not lost consciousness and still had a heartbeat. They also reported that she was “audibly snoring” after the drugs were administered.

Witnesses who were present at the execution said the procedure appeared unusually prolonged. According to reports, the curtains to the execution chamber were closed several times, while witnesses heard Pike breathing, gasping and snoring. Emergency personnel were later seen leaving the prison, and Pike was transported to an off-site medical facility.

The Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed that Pike survived the state’s attempt to execute her. The department said officials followed the state’s established execution protocol and that the protocol did not permit additional procedures beyond those carried out.

The incident came only hours after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the execution. A lower federal appeals court had issued a last-minute stay, but the Supreme Court overturned that decision, allowing Tennessee to proceed.

Pike, now 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at a vocational training program in Knoxville. Pike was 18 when the crime occurred. Her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was also convicted and received a life sentence.

Before the execution, Pike’s lawyers had argued that her history of childhood abuse, trauma and mental-health diagnoses made the state’s execution procedure particularly problematic. They also raised concerns about medical issues that they said could make establishing and maintaining an IV difficult.

The failed execution is particularly significant because it is the second problematic execution attempt in Tennessee this year. In May, officials stopped the execution of death-row inmate Tony Carruthers after they were unable to establish an IV line.

Following Pike’s failed execution, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced that executions would be suspended for the remainder of the year while an independent, third-party review is conducted.

Pike’s current medical condition has not been fully disclosed publicly. Her attorneys have sought emergency legal relief while she receives medical treatment.

The case is now raising renewed questions about Tennessee’s execution procedures and what happens legally when an execution attempt fails.